Furniture joint



Nov. 7, 1967 BlCKL 3,351,365

FURNITURE JOINT Filed June 9, 1965 k Y I F /G.3

INVENTOR United States Patent 3,351,365 FURNITURE JOINT Joseph Bicltl,110 Lebeau, Montreal 9, Quebec, Canada Filed June 9, 1965, Ser. No.462,576 1 Claim. (Cl. 287-127) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLUSURE The presentinvention relates to a furniture joint consisting of an elongated body,of rectangular or square cross-section, of the type having coplanartongues protruding from the opposite lateral faces of said body in thecenter of said faces for fitting within grooves of adjacent furniturepanels to interconnect said panels, said body further having dowelledpins protruding from the opposite main faces of said body, at spacedintervals along said body, for making connection with other furnituremembers at substantially right angles to the firstnamed panels, saidbody being characterized by the fact that it is made of two parts, eachhaving interfitting and contacting stepped surfaces opposite the mainsurfaces, said stepped surfaces defining a step face medially of thebody and at right angles to the main surfaces of the body, whereby thejoint may be taken apart or assembled by movement of the two parts ofthe joint :body solely in a direction at right angles to said mainsurfaces, to enable easy disassembly of an already assembled piece offurniture provided with joints of the present invention.

This invention relates to furniture joints, and more particularly to atype of wooden molding to be used to secure together plywood sheetswithout the use of nails or other like hardware.

Plywood sheet is widely used both in the construction industry and bythe amateur home builder to provide built-in type furniture, panelledwalls, cupboards, bookshelves and so on. Furniture of this type hasbecome popular over the years for many reasons, namely: ease of workingand a growing taste for the simple, useful and space-saving furniturethat may be constructed with plywood material. However, to the presenttime no universal device has been provided which may be used to easilyand simply form joints between adjacent plywood sheets in the same planeor planes perpendicularly related one to the other.

The problem with which this invention is concerned is that of providinga furniture joint that may be used either to permanently secure togetheradjacent plywood sheets or provide a detachable union of the sheets withthe purpose in mind of adding to or altering the arrangement of theplywood sheets at some furture time, wherein the sheets may be easilytaken apart for the necessary modifications to be made thereto.

The object of the invention therefore, is to provide a simple andinexpensive furniture joint which may be utilised in the construction ofplywood furniture to provide a detachable type joint between relatedplywood sheets for the purpose of simplifying this type of furniture.

Another object of this invention is to provide a furniture joint that isrelatively inexpensive which may be utilised to ease and speed theconstruction of furniture made with plywood sheet material.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a universal typejoint strip between adjacent plywood sheets that has a decorative andpleasing appearance in the formation of exterior visible corners andwhich is sub stantially concealed in the formation of interior jointsbetween plywood sheets.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdetailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the union of two moldingstrips similar to that depicted in FIGURE 1, in a typical interior jointwith wooden dowels inserted.

FIG. 3 is a sectional end view depicting the manner in which plywoodsheets are secured by means of the joint depicted in FIGURE 2.

FIG. 4 is an end view showing a modified joint suitable for jointingplywood sheets to form corners wherein the joint is exposed.

Referring to FIG. 1 in greater detail, reference numeral 10 designatesgenerally a molding formed from a wooden strip having a generallyrectangular cross-section comprising an exterior face 11, and arelatively narrower perpendicular face 12 provided with a longitudinaltongue 13. Opposite exterior surface 11 is formed a right-angled stephaving a perpendicular face 14 substantially along the mid-verticalsection of molding, horizontal faces 15 and 16 having therebysubstantially equal widths. Vertical holes 17 are provided centrallyclear through molding 10 at given intervals. Dowels or pegs 18 made ofwood, plastic or metal having a diameter substantially equivalent to thediameter of holes 17 and a length greater than thickness of moldingbetween faces 11 and 15 are provided to be used in conjunction withmolding 1G to form joints in the manner herein-below described. It willbe noted from a study of FIGURES 1 and 2 that each end of dowel 18 isprovided with a slot 19 to ease insertion of ends of dowels 18 intoholes 17.

In FIGURE 2 is illustrated the conjunction of two molding strips 10 and10a in a typical internal joint between plywood sheets. Molding strips10 and 10a are fitted with inner face 15 of molding 10 in direct contactwith inner face 16 of molding 10a, and vice versa, thereby aligningvertical openings 17 to permit the insertion of wooden dowels 18. Itshould be noted that opposing tongues 13 extend horizontally and fromfaces 12, substantially midway between opposite exterior faces 11 of thetwo moldings 10 and 10a. This is not of course essential according tothe invention; however it is preferable, as will become apparent as thedescription proceeds.

In the construction of plywood furniture, as for instance a bookcase,horizontal plywood sheets are provided with a groove extending alongappropriate edges thereof adapted to receive a tongue, while verticalplywood sheets are provided with circular holes along appropriate edges,the distances between the openings being substantially equivalent to thegiven distances between openings 17 in molding 10 as depicted in FIGURES1 and 2. This is clearly illustrated in FIGURE 3 wherein horizontalplywood sheets 20 forming for instance the shelves of a book-case areprovided with grooves adapted to receive tongues, while vertical plywoodsheets 22 forming, for instance, dividing walls between shelves 20, areprovided with drilled openings 23, adapted to receive the ends of dowels18. It is apparent from the foregoing that grooves 21 are centrallyformed in edges of plywood sheet 21 in order that correct alignment ofplywood sheets 20, or shelves is simply achieved upon fitting overtongue 13. It should be noted from a study of FIGURE 3 that the twomolding strips 10 and 10a in conjunction form a strip having asubstantially square section substantially equal in dimensions to thethickness of plywood sheets 20 and 22. Variations in the thickness ofmolding strip 10 may be made to match the commonly used sizes of plywoodsheet; for instance the molding strip may be provided with an exteriorface 11, having widths of A",

' /2, and so on, the remaining dimensions being in proportion in eachcase according to the above description. In this manner the internaljoints, as depicted in FIGURE 3 are concealed between the convergingedges of the plywood sheets 20 and 22.

In the construction of an outer joint, as for example in a cornerbetween the top of a bookcase and one perpendicular side as depicted inFIGURE 4, the tongue 13 is removed from the lower molding, and dowels 18are driven flush with exterior face 11 of upper molding 10. The dowels18 may, of course, be countersunk in openings 17 and the ends filledwith plastic material 24 to provide a smooth surface before thefinishing is applied thereto.

In the construction of permanent joints using this invention, innersurfaces 15 and 16 of moldings 10 and 10a are glued together asdescribed. Edges of plywood sheets 22 provided with holes 23 are spreadwith glue and applied to the exterior surfaces 11 of upper and lowermoldings 10 and 10a over dowels 18, while edges of horizontal plywoodsheets provided with grooves 21 are similarly spread with glue andapplied over tongues 13 to edges of upper and lower moldings 10 and 10aas shown in FIG- URE 3. e

An important feature of the invention is its use in constructing jointswhich later may be taken apart for additions or modifications to be madeto the structure. In these cases edges of plywood sheets 20 and 22 arenot supplied with glue before application over dowels 18 and tongues 11respectively, friction being sufficient to hold the plywood sheets 20and 22 in position.

It will be understood that while only one embodiment of the inventionhas been disclosed herein, this is exemplary and not exhaustive of theinvention since many variations and modifications may be made withoutdeparture from the inventive concept. Accordingly it is not intendedthat the invention be limited otherwise than as required by the spiritand scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A furniture joint comprising an upper and a lower elongate member eachsaid member having one at surface and opposing stepped surface defininga flat step face perpendicular to said flat surface, said step facerunning longitudinally along each said member, said step face beinglocated centrally of said opposite surface, said step faces being ofequal depth in said two members thereby to provide that inversion of onesaid member permits said two members to be removably fitted togetherinto a substantially rectangular combined unit by movement of said twomembers solely in a direction at right angles to said fiat surfaces, aplurality of equally spaced holes located through each said members,perpendicular to said fiat surfaces, said holes in one of said membersmatching exactly said holes in the other of said members, and pin meanshaving a substantially close friction fit in said holes, said pin meanspermitting firm jointing together of said two members, said pin meanshaving greater length than combined thickness of said two members,measured from one said flat surface to the other said flat surf-ace,thereby permitting joining said two members together with other elementsof a furniture structure having equally spaced holes corresponding tosaid holes in said members, both of said members being supplied with aflange extending outwardly from one side of each said member, saidflange running longitudinally along each said member, said flange havinga thickness equal to the height of said step, said flange having onesurface common with said stepped surface at its thickest location, andadditional furniture elements having grooves slidably locatable ontosaid flanges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,067,792 7/1913 Baron 52-5862,088,128 7/1937 Benjamin 46-26 2,453,326 4/1945 Lambert 287-20923,146,497 9/1964 Short et a1 287-2092 X CARL W. TOMLIN, PrimaryExaminer.

W. L. SHEDD, Assistant Examiner.

